Henriette Bothe
I’VE BEEN LUCKY WITH THE GORKI
Henriette Bothe, Golden Gorkis member from the beginning.
You’ve been at the Maxim Gorki Theatre since 1967?
I will be 82 years old soon and I’m the oldest one who still shows up here every once in a while. From 1967 to 2003 I worked at the Gorki, mostly in the PR department. Now I’m in the Golden Gorkis for actors above 60, where I’m finally allowed to perform.
Finally?
Life at the theatre is always interesting. But I particularly enjoy acting now. When I was 17, I was tested to find out if I was suitable for a career as a voice over artist. I was! They recommended that I go to an acting school. But I didn’t want to. I was doing an apprenticeship as a bookseller and »actress« seemed too far away for me. Then at 18 I was already married. Now, 65 years later, I’ve really got a taste for it: I also took part in the Villa Verdi production at the Volksbühne and shot a film as well.
During the coronavirus pandemic?
Yes, a quite long feature film. I was also in a video with a rapper. That will be released soon. I play an Arab grandmother in it, with a bunch of kids around me, and I just keep rolling grape leaves.
You were married …
Four times and I have four children. When I was thirty, I’d already been divorced three times. In addition to that I was a bookseller and worked – before I started at the Maxim Gorki Theatre – as an advertising copywriter at the Verlag der Wissenschaften publisher. When the Golden Gorkis were founded in 2009, I joined up immediately. We have an annual production in the Studio and have all the support we need for it from the theatre. I’ve been lucky with the Gorki.
Interview: Arno Widmann